Helfrich sheds some light on how offense vs. defense spring game will be scored

Oregon's spring game format will be offense vs. defense, after the Ducks had to scrap the traditional split-squad scrimmage format as a concession to injuries.

The Ducks are only thought to have about 10 healthy offensive linemen and as few as four inside linebackers, which would be just enough to split into two teams — without any reserves. That's just not feasible, and so Saturday's 11 a.m. spring game in Autzen Stadium will be scored between the offense and defense.

UO coach Mark Helfrich said today there will be some orchestrated situations, including at least four kickoffs and four punts.

"And then after we get through those situations, we'll just place the ball and go," he said.

The scoring system will be announced prior to the game, he said. The basics: offense will be awarded points in traditional fashion, while the defense will get six points for a touchdown, three for a turnover or a fourth-down stop, and one for other stops.

In years past the Ducks have tried similar formats using very convoluted scoring systems that made following the game pretty tough. But this seems like a system fans should be able to track, while the team gets its work in.

"There's a lot of guys that still need to learn situations, and practice situations," Helfrich said. "I don't care who wins, or who won in the past. I want to compete, get better and stay healthy."

From an evaluation standpoint, Helfrich said, this format might be preferable for coaches to a split-squad scrimmage.

"It's almost cleaner, the way we'll be able to arrange the matchups," he said. "Sometimes in the spring game you'll have Dion Jordan going against me, and that's not a good matchup, and nobody else gets to finish that play."

(By "me" Helfrich meant somebody not as Jordan's level. He'll often use his own name, or that of a reporter whose question he's answering, in situations like that, rather than throwing out the name of an actual player.)

The Ducks also announced today that, due to construction that will make the north side bleachers unavailable Saturday, capacity for the spring game will be just 37,400. Last year's game attracted 44,129, so plan accordingly.